Susquehanna Cuts ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Price Target to $144.00

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) had its price objective cut by Susquehanna from $147.00 to $144.00 in a report released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a positive rating on the energy producer’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $140.00 target price on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, September 13th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $150.00 to $132.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $147.00 to $132.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on ConocoPhillips from $153.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $136.94.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

Shares of COP stock opened at $104.99 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.33. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $108.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $114.48. ConocoPhillips has a 52-week low of $101.29 and a 52-week high of $135.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.21.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $14.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.96 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 18.18% and a return on equity of 20.81%. The company’s revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.84 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were given a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is presently 25.86%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Timothy A. Leach sold 55,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.11, for a total value of $6,000,105.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 455,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,288,321.99. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ConocoPhillips

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COP. Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 69.3% during the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 254 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. Richardson Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 150.0% during the first quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 250 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in ConocoPhillips by 45.8% in the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 261 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

About ConocoPhillips

ConocoPhillips explores for, produces, transports, and markets crude oil, bitumen, natural gas, liquefied natural gas (LNG), and natural gas liquids in the United States, Canada, China, Libya, Malaysia, Norway, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company's portfolio includes unconventional plays in North America; conventional assets in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia; global LNG developments; oil sands assets in Canada; and an inventory of global exploration prospects.